


Heart of God

by Katniss239



Category: The Girl of Fire and Thorns - Rae Carson, The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Comfort, F/M, Family Feels, Fate & Destiny, Fluff, Godstone power, Hurt, I'm a total sap, Memory Loss, Protective Dwarves, Romance, You've been warned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-29
Updated: 2014-04-21
Packaged: 2018-01-06 13:59:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1107690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katniss239/pseuds/Katniss239
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Bilbo finds a badly wounded girl in the woods beyond his house, she is adopted into his family. Years later, the thirteen dwarves arrive, and a certain blond prince takes a liking to her. The question is, who is she? And what is the mysterious stone she carries?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Bilbo Baggins, as a young lad, was always increasingly fond of adventures.

He would run off into the woods often, exploring or pretending he was off on adventures.

His father Bungo, of course, protested such behavior. His mother Belladonna, on the other hand, applauded his Tookish ways. Often, the two of them would get into an argument over their son's behaviour.

Bilbo payed them no mind.

He just went about his merry little way, happily unaware of his arguing parents.

One day, Bilbo was in his early teens. He had spent a good portion of the day roaming around East Farthing Woods, and was on his way home. He grinned as a sudden idea got in his head, and he stopped, and pulled out a coin. "Heads, hidden trail. Tails, main trail." He said to himself, and flipped the coin. Heads it was. He couldn't help chuckling as he jogged away down the hidden trail.

He stopped dead in his tracks when a low sound echoed through the trees. "Hello?" He called out.

It came again; a low moan.

Bilbo, being a Baggins as well as a Took, could not bring himself to leave a person in need alone in the woods. "Okay, just hang on! Keep making noise! I'll come find you!" He called out. He followed the noise out to a wide open meadow. Sure enough, a young girl was collapsed on her back. She was laying in a puddle of her own blood, her clothes ripped and torn to shreds. Judging by her size, he guessed her to either be a dwarfling, or a large hobbit.

Her skin was a dark tan color, her hair as black as a starless night. But what drew Bilbo's attention the most was the dark blue stone resting in her navel. Was he imagining things, or did that stone almost look...alive?

He shook his head and jogged over.

Hoisting her up, he ran as fast as he could back to the house.

 

 

***

 

 

Bilbo did his best to stay out of the way as the rangers moved throughout the smial.

Belladonna had called for the three rangers as soon as her son had come home with the half-dead girl. Bilbo couldn't keep his curious gaze away. The stranger hadn't moved or made a sound since Bilbo had brought her home. After what seemed like ages, the rangers declared their work done and left Belladonna with precise instructions. Belladonna thanked them, and soon they were gone.

"When will she wake up?" Bilbo asked.

"Hard to say, love." Belladonna replied.

"Could be hours, days, weeks, even months." Bungo added. "We'll just have to see." Without another word, Bungo left.

"I got an idea, love." Belladonna said, leaning down so she was at eye-level with her son. "Why don't you read to her for a while?"

"What?" Bilbo exclaimed. "You think a she-dwarf would enjoy books about flowers and gardening?"

"You never know." Belladonna replied. "Sometimes it's not about the book, but the fact that someone who cares is there beside you. Sometimes, having someone who cares with you can be the best medicine."

"Okay." Bilbo sighed. Heading to the library, he chose a book that had been a frequent favorite of his when he was smaller. He pulled up a chair beside the bed. For a long while, he gazed at the stranger's sleeping form. If he hadn't known any better, he would have guessed her to be merely asleep. "Um...hi." He said timidly. "My mother...suggested you might like to hear a story....and-well, I don't know if this is one you'd particularly like, but, uh, it's a personal favorite of mine, and um...yeah....so, here we go." He opened up the book to the first page and cleared his throat. "It began in the deep dead of winter, with all of the Shire wrapped in a shimmering, white cloak of snow...."

 

 

***

 

 

Kestrel giggled  as her pony trotted down the road.

Bilbo smiled from ear to ear as he watched her.

After she had waken up from a month-long coma, she had had no memory of anything about herself. Where she came from, who her family was. She didn't even remember her own name. She had loved hearing all of the adventures that Kestrel Took had gone on, so that was the name that her adopted family decided to give her. It had been originally intended for Bilbo to become a brother for Kestrel, but as the years passed, he became more and more of a father figure.

Bilbo chuckled as he watched her ride in circles across the broad, open field.

As she rode her pony at a canter, her shirt rustled, providing just the smallest glimpse of the stone in her navel. Bilbo frowned at this. He and his parents had never been able to figure out what that stone was, or why it remained inside her navel.

Kestrel said that it responded to certain things with certain sensations.

For example, when she was alone, and a friend was coming near, it warmed in her navel, the feeling like being curled up in front of a warm fire. They had speculated that the stone had some sort of magic in it, but Bungo had protested fervently about seeking out a wizard. 'You don't go looking for trouble, and trouble won't come looking for you.' he said.

So they had kept Kestrel's stone a secret, making sure to thoroughly hide it whenever she went out somewhere.

Hobbits were superstitious folk.

There was no need for unwanted attention.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Kestrel called excitedly as she trotted up. "Did you see me? Did you see how well I did?"

"I did!" Bilbo exclaimed as he lifted her out of the saddle. "You were amazing! Hey, how about some sweets?" Kestrel clapped and gave a squeal of excitment, which was all the answer Bilbo needed.

 

 

***

 

 

Bilbo gave a contented sigh as he made breakfast that morning.

Just as he had predicted, Kestrel came jogging down the hallway.

"Woah, woah, woah!" He exclaimed, putting out his hand to stop the young woman. "Where are you off to in such a rush?"

"Primrose challenged me to another pony race." Kestrel replied. "She knows i'll beat her, pappa. Me and Smoky!"

Bilbo chuckled and said. "Could you at least give the girl a small chance?"

"Fine." Kestrel replied, rolling her eyes.

Bilbo chuckled again, and handed his daughter a plate. "Here." He said. "You didn't think you'd be going anywhere without getting some food in your belly first, did you?" Kestrel smiled, and patted his daughter on the shoulder. Together, the two of them walked outside and sat on the bench to eat. After they finished, Kestrel took the dishes inside, and rejoined Bilbo as he pulled out his pipe for a smoke.

The sound of footsteps drew her attention, and she looked up as a tall man dressed in gray robes and holding a tall wooden staff stopped before their front gate.She stared curiously, but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at Bilbo. "Good morning." Offered the hobbit.

"What do you mean?" The old man asked. "Do you mean to wish me a good morning, or do you mean that it is a good morning, whether I want it or not? Or perhaps you would say that you feel good on this particular morning. Or are you simply stating that this is a morning to be good on?" Toroughly confused, Bilbo replied. "All of them at once, I suppose." Bilbo fidgeted uncomfortably under Gandalf's studying gaze. "Can I help you?"

"That remains to be seen." The stranger replied. "I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure." Kestrel's eyes widened. _An adventure?_

"No, I don't imagine anyone west of Bree would have much interest in adventures." Bilbo responded.

 _Me! I would!_ Kestrel shouted silently. Bilbo preceded to retrieve the mail from his mailbox. "Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things. Make you late for dinner." Bilbo looked through the stack of letters, glancing repeatedly up at the old man, hoping he had gone. When the stranger didn't leave, he gave a final 'good morning', and went back up the steps.

"To think that I should have lived to be 'Good morning-ed' by Belladonna Took's son, as if I was selling buttons at the door."

His mother's name made Bilbo stop in his tracks. "I beg your pardon?"

"You've changed, and not entirely for the better, Bilbo Baggins." the old man said degectedly.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Bilbo inquired.

"Well, you know my name, although you don't remember I belong to it. I'm Gandalf! And Gandalf means....me!"

"Gandalf..." exclaimed Bilbo, his eyes wide as saucers. "Not Gandalf, the wandering wizard, who made such _excellent_ fireworks! Old Took used to have them on Midsummer's Eve!" Gandalf chuckled at Bilbo's chosen memory. "I had no idea you were still in business." Gandalf's smile dissapeared and he asked fiercely. "And where else should I be?" When Bilbo didn't respond, Gandalf said. "Well, i'm pleased to find you remember something about me, even if it's only my fireworks. Well, that's decided. It'll be very good for you, and most amusing for me. I shall inform the others."

"No!" Bilbo shouted. "We do not want any adventures here!"

 _Yes we do!_ Kestrel thought.

"I-I suggest you try...over The Hill, or across The Water....Good morning." With that, he grabbed Kestrel's arm and pulled her inside.

Kestrel rolled her eyes. "Pappa, do you think you might have overreacted just a little?"

"That man will bring nothing but trouble." Bilbo responded.

"But pappa-"

Bilbo cut her off by saying. "It's not open to discussion. Didn't you say you had a race to win?"

"Oh, yeah!" exclaimed Kestrel. "I gotta go! See you tonight!" She gave Bilbo a quick kiss on the cheek, and was out the door. Sure enough, there was the sound of horsehooves racing away down the road, and Bilbo was alone. 


	2. Chapter 2

Night had fallen over the Shire. There were a few small lights still down in the valley, and a few smials here and there were still lit, but over all, the light of the moon was the only light that bathed the fields and woods and meadows. Bilbo's smial was one of the few still lit, as his dinner cooked and he paced anxiously, waiting for his beloved daughter to come home from whatever mischief she and her friends had gotten themselves into. He sighed as he heard the tea kettle start to whistle. A good meal was just what he needed to calm his nerves. _Stop worrying so much._ He told himself. _She's almost a woman grown. She can take care of herself._ He sat down with his full plate and added the seasoning to his fried fish.

Just as he was about to eat, the doorbell rang.

Bilbo couldn't help a startled squeak when he beheld a massive dwarf standing on his doorstep. "Dwalin," The stranger said gruffly, "at your service." Bilbo stood dumbstruck for a moment, then swiftly tied his bathrobe and said. "Bilbo...Baggins...at yours." As the dwarf stomped in, Bilbo asked. "Uh, do we know each other?"

"No." Dwalin replied, as if it were the most rediculous question he'd ever heard.

He stomped down the hallway and back as he asked. "Which way is it laddie? Is it down here?"

"I-Is what down where?" Bilbo asked.

"Supper." Dwalin replied, again in that disbelieving tone. "He said there'd be food, and lots of it."

"He-He said? Who said?" Bilbo asked.

Dwalin didn't answer as he took Bilbo's seet and devoured the hobbit's dinner in record time. It was less than five minutes in before the doorbell rang again. This time, there was an old dwarf with a long white beard standing at his door. "Balin, at your service." He said, bowing to Bilbo.

"Good evening." Bilbo replied, for lack of a better response.

After their greetings, Balin and Dwalin moved off to Bilbo's pantry, ignoring the hobbit who was trying to get them to show at least a bit of manners. It was less than five minutes before the doorbell rang for a third time. This time, Bilbo found not one, but two dwarves at his doorstep, a blond and a brunette. "Fili," said the blond.

"And Kili," the brunett added.

"At your service," they said together, bowing in perfect syncrony.

For a moment, Bilbo forgot his anger at the uninvited guests. There was something in the blond dwarf's jovial yet sofisticated manner that reminded him very much of his little girl. It brought warmth to his heart. This feeling was only increased by the brunett brother-that was the relationship that Bilbo guessed, given how similar they were. This feeling died however when the brunett wiped the mud from his boots on Bilbo's mother's glory box.

When Gandalf arrived with the rest of the dwarves, the hobbit felt very close to snapping.

His pantry was complete cleaned out by the time the feast began.

The dwarves were incredibly loud and boisterous, throwing food everywhere.

Bilbo could only look on gloomily.

Gandalf found Bilbo some time later, after he snatched back a doiley from Nori. "My dear Bilbo, what on earth is the matter?"

"W-What's the matter?" Bilbo exclaimed. "I'm surrounded by dwarves! _What are they doing here?"_

"Oh, they're quite a merry gathering..." Gandalf said, "once you get used to them."

"I don't want to _get used_ to them!" Bilbo hissed, leading Gandalf into the hallway. "Look at the state of my kitchen! There's mud trod into the carpet! They've _pillaged_ the pantry! I'm not even going to tell you what they've done in the bathroom; they've all but destroyed the plumbing! _I don't understand what they're doing in my house!"_ It was just then that the sweatered dwarf Ori came up, asking what he should do with his plate. He was answered by Fili taking his plate and tossing it to his brother, who then proceeded to toss it to an unseen dwarf in the kitchen.

This led to cutlery and crockery flying everywhere and a roudy song about "THAT'S WHAT BILBO BAGGINS HATES!!!"

When the song ended, Bilbo burst into the dining room to find all his dishes cleaned and neatly stacked, not a crack or chip to be found.

The dwarves howled and guffawed at Bilbo's worried face.

Three loud knocks plunged the smial into silence.

"He's here." Gandalf said prophetically.

 

 

The hobbit and the dwarf king did not start out on the best feet. "Thought as much." Thorin commented. "He looks more like a grocer than a burglar." The rest of the dwarves followed their leader into the dining room, with Bilbo and Gandalf a few steps behind.

"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin?" Balin asked. "Did they all come?"

"Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms." Thorin replied.

"And what do the dwarves of the Iron Hills say?" Dwalin asked. "Is Dain with us?"

Thorin gave a frustrated sigh before he replied, "They will not come. They say this quest is ours, and ours alone." The dwarves sat in silence until Bilbo broke it with the question of "You're going on a quest?"

"Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light." Gandalf requested. While Bilbo fetched another candle, Gandalf pulled out a piece of parchment, unfolded it, and set it on the table. "Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and waistlands, lies a single solitary peak." He said.

"The L-one-ly Mountain." Bilbo read slowly.

"Aye," Gloin proclaimed, "Oin has read the portence, and the portence say it is time!"

"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain," Oin added, "as it was foretold. 'When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end.'" That caught Bilbo's attention, and he turned toward the dwarves as he asked. "Um, what beast?"

"Oh, that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible," Bofur replied. "chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborn firebreather, teeth like razors, claws like meathooks, extremely fond of precious metals-"

"Yes, I know what a dragon is." Bilbo interrupted heatedly. He had read Kestrel plenty of stories of dragons before. Speaking of which, where on earth was she? Suddenly Ori leaped to his feet and proclaimed. "I'm not afraid! I'm up for it! I'll give him a taste of dwarvish iron right up his jacksie!" This earned him cheers from most of the company, except for Dori, who snarled "Sit down!" and yanked Ori back into his seat. A knocking on the door drew everyone's attention, cloaking Bag-End in silence once more. "Were you expecting anyone else?" Bilbo asked.

"No, I was not." Gandalf replied, looking equally curious.

"Then who-Kestrel!" He tore off to the door. Upon throwing it open, an exhausted Kestrel collapsed into his arms. "Kestrel, are you alright? Talk to me, little one! Are you alright?"

"Not. Little." She growled. She looked up at him. a long gash across her forehead was lightly bleeding. Her hands were covered in minor scrapes, but nothing to serious. Bilbo took her arm and helped her to stand. "I'm fine Pappa. You worry too much." She hissed.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just landed on a bad spot is all.

"Did you and Primrose Fallowhide go climbing trees again? I've told you I don't think that's safe!"

"Pappa, i've been climbing trees almost since I could toddle! I'm practically an expert!"

"Did you at least stay away from the wolf's den on the east side?" Bilbo asked.

"Now, Pappa, you don't really think i'm _that_ thick do you?" Kestrel asked, her gold eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Sometimes, my dear, I worry." Bilbo replied with a chuckle. A cough drew Bilbo's attention to the table, where the dwarves were staring with questioning eyes. "Oh, right. Um, here." Bilbo led Kestrel into the dining room, where Bofur immediately offered her a seat. "Thank you." She mumbled. She rubbed her arm, trying to ease the nervous tension in her stomach. She had never actually met a dwarf before, aside from the merchant Bilbo bought Smokey from. "Kestrel, i'm sure you remember Gandalf." Bilbo said. Kestrel smiled at the wizard and offered a handshake. "As for the rest, this is the company of Thorin Oakenshield."

"A pleasure." Kestrel said to them.

"You're a hobbit child?" Thorin said, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"In blood, no. In heart, yes." Kestrel responded.

"What happened to your family?" Fili asked.

"Fili!" Dori snapped.

"No, it's okay." She frowned in thought, and cast her gaze to the floor. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know. If the state I was in when I arrived in the shire is any indication, they're long dead.....but I haven't a clue. I didn't even have a name when I woke up in the Shire. I named myself, and i've lived here ever since."

"A Baggins of Bag-End." Bilbo stated proudly as he cleaned the cut on her forehead. "And my daughter for nineteen years."

"Pappa, let's not bore these men with the details of my life in the Shire." Kestrel said lightly. "I'm sure they have much more pressing matters to attend to."

"The lass is right." Balin said. "This task would be difficult with an army behind us, but we number just thirteen. And not thirteen of the best, nor brightest." This was how a loud argument errupted, silenced as Fili slapped the table and proclaimed. "We may be few in number, but we're fighters, all of us, _to the last dwarf!"_

 _"_ And you forget," Kili added to back up his brother, "we have  a _wizard_ in our company! Gandalf will have killed _hundreds_  of dragons in his time!" Said wizard began to choke on the smoke of his pipe. That was how another argument erupted over just how many dragons Gandalf had killed in his lifetime. The argument ended when Thorin leaped to his feet and roared for silence. "If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too?" The dwarf prince proclaimed. "Rumors have begun to spread; the dragon Smaug has not been seen for sixty years. Eyes look east to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back, while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to TAKE BACK EREBOR!?" The room erupted into triumphant cheers.

"You forget, the front gate is sealed!" Balin shouted above the noise, making everyone go quiet. "There's no way into the mountain."

"That my dear Balin," Gandalf said with a gleam in his eyes, "is not entirely true." He produced a large, ornate key from somewhere inside his robes. Kestrel felt something inside her shift. A vision flashed before her eyes. She saw a man, dressed in bleached white robes, and wearing a long, gold-white braid that he had wrapped around his neck like a snake. As soon as the image came, it was gone again. Kestrel could faintly hear the dwarves grumbling around her.

"The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage." Gandalf said. "But, if we are careful, and clever, I believe that it can be done."

"That's why we need a burglar." Ori quipped.

"Hm, a good one too." Bilbo commented. "An expert i'd imagine."

"And are you?" Gloin asked.

There was a moment of silence before Bilbo asked. "Am I what?"

"He said he's an expert!" Oin exclaimed gleefully.

"Me?" Exclaimed Bilbo. "No. No. No, no, no! I'm not a burglar! i've never stolen a thing in my life!"

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Master Baggins." Balin put in. "He's hardly burglar material."

"But I am." said Kestrel. All eyes turned to her. "I'm a very fast runner, and stealthy as a wraithe."

Dwalin sneered. "But you're-"

"A woman? Very perceptive of you, master dwarf." Kestrel hissed back. "Judge a person's skills not by their gender, but by the skills themselves."

"The Wild is no place for gentle-folk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves." Dwalin continued.

"You have no idea what I can do, _sir,_ so you have no right to pass judgement on me! I was able to shoot bullseyes with my bow before my first year in the Shire was up. I've been weilding a sword for nearly as long. So try learning a bit about someone before you go passing judgements." Kestrel seethed.

"Enough!" Gandalf shouted. "If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is. And Miss Baggins is quite capable of protecting herself. I have seen so with my own eyes. You will benefit from her help." Some looked ready to protest, so Gandalf continued. "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most if they choose. And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of a hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage...." He leaned in close to Thorin as he added. "You must trust me on this."

Thorin looked weary as he asked. "And the girl?"

"Who happens to be sitting _right here._ " Kestrel growled through clenched teeth.

"There is alot more to her than appearences suggest, and she's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know." Gandalf said to the dwarf prince. There was a long moment's pause before Thorin said. "Very well. We'll do it your way." Balin stood up and pulled a folded piece of parchment from his robes. As Kestrel stood, the dwarves were given just the smallest glimpse of the stone in her navel. No one said anything as Bilbo was handed the contract. "Lacerations....eviceration?..... _incineration?"_

"Oh, aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye." Bofur replied cheerily. The hobbit swayed alittle, but the hatted dwarf didn't seem to notice. "Think furnace with wings. Flash of light, searing pain, then _poof!_ you're nothing more than a pile of ash!"

"Hmm....Nope." With that, the hobbit promptly fainted.

"Pappa!" Kestrel exclaimed, coming to his side.

"He'll be alright lass." Balin told her. "Best get him comfortable." Kestrel nodded. She brought her father's arm up over her shoulders, and helped him into the living room to set him in the armchair. Meanwhile, a more private conversation had begun in the kitchen. "Did you see that stone in her navel?" Bofur asked.

"Aye, laddie, that I did." Balin replied.

"Where do you suppose she's from?" Fili asked.

"Hard to say." Balin responded. "I guess we'll find out."     


	3. Chapter 3

It was quite some time later that Bilbo regained conciousness, and was given a hot mug of tea. "I'll be alright." He said. "Just let me sit quietly for a moment."

"You've been sitting quietly for far too long." Gandalf scolded. "Tell me; when did diolies and your mother's dishes become so important to you? I remember a young hobbit who was always running off in search of elves in the woods. He'd stay out late, and come home after dark trailing mud and twigs and fireflies. A young hobbit who would have liked nothing better than to find out what was beyond the borders of the Shire. The world is not in your books and maps. It's out there." He gestured to the window to indicate the rolling green hills and endless blue skies.

I can't just go running off into The Blue!" Bilbo exclaimed. "I am a Baggins, or Bag-End!"

"You are also a Took." Gandalf countered. "I need not tell you of the things your great-great-great-great uncle Bullroarer Took accomplished, for you have recounted those tales time and time again to your daughter. She looks up to you, Bilbo Baggins, and by sitting around, letting the world roll by, you are telling her that her dreams are unatainable, and to be forgotten."

"What do you know of her dreams?" Bilbo asked in curiosity.

"I know that she is very much like you were. I know that she longs to see the world, and that this quest could be just what she needs-what you _both_ need."

There was a long pause before Bilbo asked. "Can you promise that I will come back?"

"No." Gandalf answered truthfully. "And if you do, you will not be the same."

"That's what I thought." Bilbo replied, rising to his feet. "Sorry Gandalf, I can't sign this. You've got the wrong hobbit."

"Pappa." He turned around to see Kestrel standing in the doorway. "Please. Don't send them away. They might be able to give me answers! This could be my only chance!" It broke Bilbo's heart to see the tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to spill over.

"I'm sorry Kes." Bilbo told her, and walked away without another word. The tears broke through, and Kestrel covered her face with her hands as her body shook with silent sobs. "There, there, my dear." Gandalf said softly, taking the girl in his arms and gently rubbing her back. "Everything will be alright."

"B-But Gand-d-dalf, he said we're not-"

He smiled warmly down at her. "Shhh, breathe dear one. You have my word that everything will work out in the end."

That night, father and daughter lay awake in bed. The haunting melody of the deep song of the dwarves was making both their minds wander, to lands far away, places they could only imagine.

_Far over, the misty mountain's cold._

_To dungeons deep, and caverns old._

_We must away, er break of day,_

_To find our long forgotten gold._

_The pines were roaring, on the height._

_The winds were moaning, in the night._

_The fire was red._

_It flaming spread._

_The trees like torches blazed with light._

 

 

***

 

 

Bilbo woke up the next morning to the sound of cheerful birdsong. Sunlight flooded the room, bathing everything in a soft golden light. He found himself wishing to stay in bed just a bit longer, just to close his eyes and-wait! What of the dwarves? Quickly throwing on his robes, he krept out into the hallway, looking for signs of life. He found no such thing. "Hello?" He called out just to be certain.

Silence answered him.

He continued to peak down the hallways, honestly oping for a response, for some signs of life. There was something very sad about the quiet. Very lonely. Bilbo hadn't felt this lonely in years. Why should he? He had Kes after all. Letting out a deep breath, he turned to go back to bed when something caught his eye. A folded piece of parchment-the contract, with Thorin's and Balin's signatures adorning it.

There were two blank spaces beneath, most likely meant for himself and Kestrel.

 He pursed his lips, feeling something Tookish rise up inside him. This thing, this force, that yearned to possess great stories for telling, to see the world beyond his own front door. To the end of his days, he would never understand why he had answered it's call, but he did. "Oh, bother." He muttered, and changed his course. He pushed open the great wooden door to find Kestrel asleep in bed, her stuffed toy horse tucked under one arm. Hers was the brightest room in all of Bag-End, looking out over the rolling green hills and flower gardens and wheat fields. Sketches were pinned all over the walls. Some Kestrel had done herself. Others had been done by her friends.  A sketch of her and Bilbo hung above her desk, set in a wooden frame.

Bilbo walked up to the bed and began shaking her gently. "Kestrel." he whispered.

Kestrel mumbled something in her sleep and rolled onto her back.

"Kestrel. Kes. Come on love, wake up." Bilbo said, a little louder.

"Nooo....don't wanna wake up..." Kestrel murmured.

"Kestrel! We're going to be late! Get up!" Bilbo insisted.

"Late for what?" She grumbled.

"For the adventure!" Kestrel didn't need another reminder after that. The two of them flew through the house like a hurricane was they swiftly dressed and packed. After Kestrel scribbled her signature on the contract, she rushed outside to tack up Smoky. When Bilbo ran out the door-making sure to lock it behind them-, Kestrel hoisted him up into the saddle behind her, and the two of them rode through the Shire as if the Great Evil himself was on their heals.

"'ere, Mister Bilbo! Miss Kestrel! Where are you off to?"

"Can't stop! We're already late!" Kestrel called as they raced past.

"Late for what?"

"We're going on an adventure!" Bilbo hollered.

Smoky was a fast pony, so it didn't take long for them to spot the dwarves and their troop of sixteen shaggy ponies. "Wait! _wait!"_ Bilbo hollered. Thorin shouted for the group to halt, and Kestrel slowed Smoky to a stop as they came before Balin. "We signed it!" Kestrel declared, and Bilbo handed Balin the contract.

"Everything appears to be in order." Balin declared after a while. "Welcome to the company of Thorin Oakenshield." They recieved a few scattered cheers. Thorin-who didn't look impressed in the least-, gave the order to move on. Kestrel guided Smoky to blend in with the rest of the ponies as the group kept moving. Bilbo padded hi pockets, and Kestrel's face turned scarlet with embarrasment as Bilbo called out for the group to stop because he had forgotten his handkerchief. _Really, pappa?_ she thought. _A_ Handkerchief? "Here, use this!" Bofur called out, ripping off a strip of his shirt and tossing it to Bilbo. The first day of the journey came and went.

When night cloaked the landscape, they stopped to make camp on a massive cliff.

It was then that the dwarves decided to come outright with their questions.

"Miss Kestrel." Fili asked, making Kestrel look up from her bowl of stew. "If you don't mind my asking, where did that stone come from?"

"Stone? This one?" Kestrel asked, rolling up her shirt and vest just enough to reveal the blue stone in her navel, and Fili nodded. All of the dwarves were tuned in on the conversation now. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know. It's just sort of always been there." She told them.

"Does it ever come out?" Ori asked. Kestrel shook her head and said. "Believe me, i've tried. It doesn't come out. It also does things."

"What sort of things?" Thorin inquired.

"Well," Kestrel told him. "For example, when a friend is coming near, it'll feel warm. A soothing kind of warmth, like i'm laying in front of the fireplace at home." The dwarves murmured in curiosity. "So you truely remember nothing of your old life?" Kili asked.

"She has flashes here and there, but nothing she can hold on to." Bilbo replied.

 


	4. Chapter 4

On day three, the threatened load of rain was finally dumped.

It didn't take long for both the ponies and the company to become soaked to the skin.

Everyone was grumpy in this weather.

Even Fili and Kili weren't their normal, cheery selves.

Smoky stepped into a sinkhole once, nearly tossing Bilbo and Kestrel out of the saddle. But in the nick of time, the pony managed to pull his leg out, and trudged onward. "'ere, Mister Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?" Dori called up.

"It is raining, Master Dwarf," Gandalf replied, "and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard." Dori grumbled something under his breath, but didn't argue.

"Are there any?" Bilbo asked. "Other wizards?"

"There are five of us." Gandalf responded. "The greatest of our order is Saruman the White. Then there are the two blue wizards.....you know, I've quite forgotten their names."

"And who is the fifth?" Bilbo inquired.

"Oh, that would be Radagast, the Brown." Gandalf told him.

"Is he a great wizard, or is he more like you?" Said Bilbo, and Kestrel snorted.

Gandalf paused before he said. "I think he is a very great wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the east, and a good thing to, for always evil will look to find a foothold in this world."

Suddenly, Kestrel pulled Smoky to a halt.

"Kestrel?" Bilbo asked. "Kes?" He looked around, and saw she had that same distant look whenever she was having a flashback.

Several images flashed before her eyes.

A village burning.

A castle under siege.

A cloaked woman carrying an infant in her arms.

 


End file.
